IronRidge Resources Limited, (AIM: IRR), the Australia-based African focussed minerals exploration company, has announced landmark news in completion of a Scoping Study on the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, West Africa, which confirms it is an industry-leading asset.
Highlight:
– Scoping Study supports business case for 2.0 Million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) production operation with life of mine (“LOM”) revenues exceeding US$1.55 Billion, with significant potential to extend LOM.
– Eight (8) year LOM operation, producing an average 295,000tpa of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate.
– Study delivers exceptional financial outcomes:
o LOM revenues exceeding US$1.55bn, Post-tax NPV8 of US$345M, IRR of 125% over 8 years
o US$68M capital cost with industry-leading payback period of <1 year
o C1 cash operating costs of US$247 per tonne of 6% lithium spodumene concentrate Free on Board (“FOB”) Ghana Port
o Pre-tax NPV8 of US$ 539M and EBITDA of US$854M for LOM
o Average EBITDA of US$105M per annum
– Preliminary Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (“ANSTO”) test-work confirms Ewoyaa concentrate produces high purity, battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (“LHM”).
– Project provides outstanding asset fundamentals, logistics and access to infrastructure:
o Conventional open cut mining operation from surface with low stripping ratios
o Simple processing via conventional dense media separation only (“DMS”), producing a premium coarse crush 6% spodumene concentrate saleable product
o Excellent geology and metallurgy with significant value-add potential from feldspar credits
o First quartile cash costs; low capital and operating costs with a low carbon footprint
o Significant exploration upside potential from the historic Egyasimanku Hill deposit (1.5Mt @ 1.66% Li2O) and surrounding 684km2 portfolio
o Close proximity to excellent logistics and infrastructure – only 110km by road from the deep-sea port of Takoradi, adjacent to highway and high voltage (“HV”) powerlines, including hydroelectric sources
– Significant potential for resource upgrades; project metrics substantially improve with increased LOM beyond 10 years.
Commenting on the Company’s latest progress, Vincent Mascolo, CEO of IronRidge, said: “Today’s landmark update regarding the Company’s exceptional Scoping Study confirms that the Ewoyaa Lithium Project is an industry-leading asset and transformational for IronRidge.
“The Study outlines a robust 2.0Mtpa operation which can deliver excellent cash flows, a very quick payback and a pre-tax NPV of over half a billion U.S. dollars from a modest 8-year operation, producing a coarse, premium DMS concentrate product.
“The Project leverages existing infrastructure, including directly adjacent HV power, a major highway within 1km of the site, and the major port of Takoradi less than 2 hours’ drive away.
“Few hard-rock lithium projects worldwide can boast the proximity to existing operational infrastructure, lithium grade and a simple DMS-only process route that separates Ewoyaa from its peers.
“With the benefit of adjacent infrastructure and without the need to include expensive milling and flotation circuits, the Project benefits from a very low upfront capital expenditure.
“Our resource continues to grow, and the upside of the Project is clear; further resource drilling is currently underway and, as such, we expect that the Project metrics will improve beyond the current defined Life of Mine.
“Given these fundamentals, we are very excited by the resurgence and exponential growth potential across the lithium supply chain and reaffirm to the market that IronRidge is ideally poised to capture the lithium market going forward.”
1. Project Summary
The Scoping Study for the Project proposes a contract mining operation, mobile contract crushing facility and fixed conventional DMS (dense media separation) processing facility, capable of treating 2.0Mtpa of ore over an initial 8-year mine life. The project benefits from easy access to infrastructure, including the major Accra-Takoradi highway within 1km of the site, high voltage power running through the exploration lease area, and ample accommodation in the vicinity of the Project, providing localised benefits for employment of labour, and utilisation of existing service providers and suppliers (refer Figure 1).
IronRidge managed the Scoping Study with various industry expert consulting firms engaged to contribute to key areas. This announcement provides a summary of the key findings of the Study including estimated financial results, capital and operating cost estimates, summary mine design and scheduling, processing plant flowsheet and transport of product.
2. Project Location
The Project includes the Ewoyaa, Abonko and Kaampakrom deposits and is located in Ghana, West Africa, approximately 100km southwest of the capital of Accra. The Project area is immediately north of Saltpond, in the Central Region, and falls within the Mfantseman Municipality where Saltpond is the district capital (refer Figure 2).
Access to the site from Accra is along the asphalt N1 Accra-Cape Coast-Takoradi highway which runs along the southern boundary of the Project. Several laterite roads extend northwards from the highway and link communities in the Project area. The port of Takoradi is within 110km to the west from the site, and accessible via the same highway.
3. Geological Setting
The Project area lies within the Birimian Supergroup, a Proterozoic volcano-sedimentary basin located in Western Ghana. The Project area is underlain by three forms of metamorphosed schist; mica schist, staurolite schist and garnet schist. Several granitoids intrude the basin metasediments as small plugs. These granitoids range in composition from intermediate granodiorite (often medium grained) to felsic leucogranites (often coarse to pegmatoidal grain size), sometimes in close association with pegmatite veins and bodies.
Pegmatite intrusions generally occur as sub-vertical dykes with two dominant trends: either striking north-northeast (Ewoyaa Main) and dipping sub-vertically to moderately southeast to east-southeast, or striking west-northwest (Abonko, Kaampakrom and Ewoyaa Northeast) dipping sub-vertically northeast. Pegmatite thickness varies across the Project, with thinner mineralised units intersected at Abonko and Kaampakrom between 4m and 12m; and thicker units intersected at Ewoyaa Main between 30m and 60m, and up to 100m at surface.
4. Mineralisation
The Project area has two clearly defined domains or material types of spodumene bearing lithium mineralisation. IronRidge has termed these material types as Pegmatite Type P1 and Pegmatite Type P2; viz:
§ P1: Coarse grained spodumene material, the dominant spodumene bearing pegmatite encountered to date, exhibiting very coarse to pegmatoidal, euhedral to subhedral spodumene crystals composing 20 to 40% of the rock.
§ P2: Medium to fine grained spodumene material, where abundant spodumene crystals of a medium crystal size dominates. The spodumene is euhedral to subhedral and can compose up to 50% of the rock. The spodumene can be bi-modal with some larger phenocrysts entrained within the medium grained spodumene bearing matrix. Minor other lithium bearing phases are present.
There are therefore four main geometallurgical domains; course grained type P1 and finer grained type P2 pegmatites and their weathered equivalents. It is noted that metallurgical recoveries differ between the four material types, which is discussed later in this report.
5. Mineral Resource
A JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by Ashmore Advisory Pty Ltd (“Ashmore”) using ordinary kriging methods for resource estimation with a 0.5% Li2O cut-off. The JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource was released to market in January 2020 and is shown in Table 1.
Drilling at the deposit extends to a vertical depth of approximately 180m and the mineralisation was modelled from surface to a depth of approximately 200m below surface. The estimate is based on good quality reverse circulation (“RC”) and diamond core (“DD”) drilling data. Drill hole spacing is predominantly 40m by 40m in the well drilled portions of the Project, and up to 80m by 80m to 100m by 100m across the breadth of the known mineralisation.
Table 1: JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate (0.5% Li2O Cut-off)
|
|
Indicated |
Inferred |
Total |
||||||
|
Tonnes (Mt) |
Li2O% Grade |
Contained Li2O (kt) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
Li2O% Grade |
Contained Li2O (kt) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
Li2O% Grade |
Contained Li2O (kt) |
|
|
Ewoyaa Main |
3.7 |
1.38 |
52 |
6.0 |
1.16 |
70 |
9.8 |
1.24 |
121 |
|
Ewoyaa North |
|
|
|
0.4 |
1.15 |
5 |
0.4 |
1.15 |
5 |
|
Ewoyaa NE |
|
|
|
2.5 |
1.49 |
38 |
2.5 |
1.49 |
38 |
|
Abonko |
0.7 |
1.48 |
11 |
0.7 |
1.32 |
9 |
1.4 |
1.40 |
20 |
|
Kaampakrom |
|
|
|
0.3 |
1.61 |
5 |
0.3 |
1.61 |
5 |
|
TOTAL |
4.5 |
1.39 |
62 |
10.0 |
1.27 |
126 |
14.5 |
1.31 |
189 |
Exploration RC drilling is underway to test seven robust auger defined pegmatite targets at Ewoyaa with an internal exploration target range of 2.5Mt to 7.5Mt, with a view of supporting a plus 10yr mine life.
It is estimated that every additional year of production will add c. US$40M in NPV per annum.
6. Carbon Footprint
The EV industry supply chain is committed to a net zero carbon target and the EU in particular has proposed new regulations on carbon limits. From 1 January 2026, lithium-ion batteries will have to bear a carbon intensity performance class label and from 1 July 2027, must comply with maximum carbon footprint thresholds.
The Ewoyaa project has an advantage over other spodumene projects in terms of:
§ Power generation – this will be sourced from existing operational hydroelectric plants in the region.
§ Shipping distance – close proximity to both Europe and the US compared to many peers.
§ Product haulage – only 110km from the major port of Takoradi.
As the mine develops, the intention is to also take full advantage of ongoing developments in alternative fuel sources for mine vehicles.
7. Mining Studies
The Ewoyaa Lithium Project is a hard-rock, pegmatite (spodumene rich) hosted system with mineralisation beginning near surface and extending to depths exceeding 200m. The width of the pegmatite veins varies from greater than 100m to less than a metre and have a strike length exceeding 20km of continuous structure. In the more continuous sections of the Ewoyaa Main Zone the pegmatite thickness is typically 30m to 60m.
These pegmatite veins have been assessed for open pit mining and processing via a crushing circuit and Dense Media Separation (‘DMS’) process to produce a coarse spodumene concentrate. On this basis, a preliminary review of open pit mining was completed by Mining Focus Consultants Pty Ltd (‘MFC’) utilising the ‘Whittle Four-X’ software.
The WHITTLE™ pit optimisations were conducted for the Study by MFC based on Mineral Resources estimated by Ashmore. Pit Optimisation Parameters are summarised in Table 2 and pit shells depicted in Figure 3.
Table 2: Assumptions for 2.0Mtpa throughput Option (all dollars in US$)
|
Parameter |
Unit |
2.0Mtpa |
|
DMS Plant throughput |
tpa |
2,000,000 |
|
Mineral Resources |
JORC (2012) Non-JORC |
Indicated & Inferred Historical deposit |
|
Concentrate grade (6% Li2O) |
% |
6.0 |
|
Spodumene (6% Li2O) price (FOB Ghana) |
$/t |
650 |
|
Product moisture content |
% |
3.0 |
|
Processing recovery |
|
|
|
P1 Fresh Material |
% |
72% |
|
P1 Transition Material |
% |
68% |
|
P2 All Material |
% |
51% |
|
Operating Costs |
|
|
|
Mining cost |
$/t mined |
$3.28 |
|
Processing cost |
$/t processed |
$11.49 |
|
General and administration |
$/t processed |
$2.48 |
|
Stockpile rehandling |
$/t processed |
$0.54 |
|
Road Freight – Spodumene |
$/t |
$15.80 |
|
Sea Freight – Spodumene |
$/t |
Not applicable (FOB) |
|
Sustaining Capital |
$/t mined |
$0.44 |
|
Closure Costs |
$/t mined |
$0.64 |
|
Capital cost estimate |
$M |
$68.1M |
|
Discount rate |
% |
8.0 |
|
Dilution |
% |
Nil |
|
Mining recovery |
% |
100 |
|
Slope angle |
degrees |
47 |
|
Royalties |
|
|
|
Government |
% |
5 |
|
Local JV Partners |
% |
1.5 |
|
Marketing and insurance |
% of sales |
3 |
|
Corporate tax rate |
% |
35 |
|
|
|
|
The optimisation results show that a mining operation could be developed at the Project at the throughput case examined. Further study of capital and operating costs to generate project cash flows was warranted, including the development of mine production schedules which was the next step in the mining study process.
Scheduling Results
The scheduling results are summarised in the tables and figures below, and indicate that:
§ Plant throughput targets had been achieved for the 2.0Mtpa production rate.
§ Processing of Inferred resources had been deferred to the back end of the production schedule.
§ Material movement appeared achievable for all cases and mining would be completed in advance of processing.
§ Bench turnovers are considered to be within acceptable limits, however detailed analysis has not been conducted given the early study phase of the Project.
§ The release of pits and pit stages is dictated by both value and Project logistics.
Table 3: Mine Schedule Material Breakdown by Pit – 2.0Mtpa (projected)
|
Pit Name |
Total Material |
Waste |
Strip Ratio |
Plant Feed |
Li2O Grade |
Conc. |
P1 Ore |
P2 Ore |
|
[kt] |
[kt] |
[w:o] |
[kt] |
[%] |
[kt] |
[kt] |
[kt] |
|
|
Ewoyaa Main – Starter |
13,857 |
8,408 |
1.5 |
5,449 |
1.41 |
889 |
11,463 |
653 |
|
Ewoyaa Main – Final |
25,835 |
21,212 |
4.7 |
4,489 |
1.16 |
559 |
2,756 |
1,733 |
|
Ewoyaa South 1 |
5,480 |
4,637 |
5.5 |
843 |
0.92 |
88 |
747 |
96 |
|
Ewoyaa South 2 |
6,849 |
5,608 |
4.5 |
1,241 |
1.31 |
175 |
777 |
464 |
|
Abonko Main |
13,228 |
12,012 |
9.9 |
1,215 |
1.44 |
209 |
1,215 |
0 |
|
Abonko North |
1,521 |
1,257 |
4.8 |
264 |
1.64 |
52 |
264 |
0 |
|
Abonko East |
137 |
107 |
3.3 |
32 |
0.80 |
3 |
32 |
0 |
|
Ewoyaa NE |
19,332 |
16,785 |
6.6 |
2,548 |
1.53 |
375 |
827 |
1,721 |
|
Kaampakrom Main |
2,124 |
1,927 |
9.8 |
197 |
1.65 |
39 |
197 |
0 |
|
Kaampakrom East |
131 |
121 |
13.0 |
9 |
1.82 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
88,495 |
72,075 |
4.4 |
16,288 |
1.34 |
2,390 |
18,287 |
4,668 |
8. Processing/Metallurgy
Metallurgical test work supervision, interpretation and flow sheet development work to support the Study was managed by Trinol Pty Ltd (‘Trinol’) and all beneficiation testing performed by NAGROM Laboratories (‘NAGROM’) in Perth, Western Australia.
Drill core from a total of seventeen composites, obtained from the Ewoyaa lithium deposit in late 2018, was sent to NAGROM for preliminary metallurgical assessment. Geometallurgically, the mineralisation was identified as coarse P1 and fine P2 types with fresh and transitional zones within each type as noted above:
§ P1: Coarse grained spodumene ore, the dominant spodumene bearing pegmatite encountered.
§ P2: Medium to fine grained spodumene ore, where abundant spodumene crystals of a medium crystal size dominates.
The metallurgical test work was conducted from March to July 2019 to measure key physical properties, to gauge initial response to gravity separation using heavy liquid separation (‘HLS’) testing and to characterize crystal phases using X-ray diffraction (‘XRD’).
Follow up testwork was conducted at a larger scale using P1 Fresh ore in a 100mm DMS cyclone to generate bulk sample for preliminary conversion tests at Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (‘ANSTO’) in Sydney and to investigate the effect of re-crushing DMS middlings on overall product recovery and yield of P1 and P2 ores.
Physical Parameters
Before core composites were crushed, key physical parameters were measured as recorded in Table 4. The Uniaxial Compressive Strength (‘UCS’) and Crusher Work Index (‘CWi’) values indicate that Ewoyaa mineralisation is slightly harder than other pegmatites and this is reflected in the lower production of fines after crushing in the laboratory.
Table 4: Physical Properties
|
Parameter |
Unit |
P1 Ore Type |
P2 Ore Type |
|
Density |
t/m3 |
2.67 – 2.79 |
2.64 – 2.80 |
|
UCS |
MPa |
150-200 |
>200 |
|
CWi |
kWh/t |
20.83 |
17.3 |
DSO Potential
Size by size analysis after crushing from 10mm to 6.3mm indicated the lithium was fairly evenly distributed through the size fractions which suggested the mineralisation was not amenable to simple beneficiation for the production of DSO (direct ship ore).
Gravity Processing
The overall results obtained from HLS and DMS100 testing are summarised in the tables below:
Table 5: Summary of test-work results on P1 mineralisation at 6.3mm crush size
|
Mineral Type |
Test |
Head grade % Li2O |
Conc Grade % Li2O |
Conc Mass % Overall |
Recovery % Overall |
|
P1 Fresh |
DMS -no re-crush |
1.68 |
6 |
21 |
69 |
|
|
DMS -with re-crush |
1.68 |
6 |
22 |
72 |
|
P1 Transitional |
DMS -no re-crush |
1.37 |
6 |
15 |
63 |
|
|
DMS -with re-crush |
1.37 |
6 |
16 |
68 |
Table 6: Summary of test-work results on P2 mineralisation at 6.3mm crush size
|
Mineral Type |
Test |
Head grade % Li2O |
Conc Grade % Li2O |
Conc Mass % Overall |
Recovery % Overall |
|
P2 Fresh |
HLS -no re-crush |
1.00 |
5.5 |
7 |
42 |
|
|
HLS -with re-crush |
1.00 |
5.5 |
8 |
46* |
|
P2 Transitional |
HLS -no re-crush |
1.23 |
5.6 |
13 |
55 |
|
|
HLS -with re-crush |
1.23 |
5.6 |
14 |
61* |
* Average of 51% overall recovery was adopted for the Study.
These results demonstrated that both ore types responded well to gravity processing, with up to 72% recovery for the P1 Fresh and an average of 51% for the P2 Fresh after re-crushing the gravity middlings. Further geological work is planned to better delineate the zones of P1 and P2 ore types within the resource to allow a blending regime to be developed to optimise annual plant recovery.
Concentrate Quality
A feature of the metallurgical test work was the consistently good quality of concentrates produced. The iron content of the concentrates, as expressed by % Fe2O3, was below 1% and combined alkalis, % Na2O & K2O, less than 3%. Coupled with the coarse size of the concentrates and the very favourable project logistics, these are very desirable properties for off-takers.
Fines Processing
Around 15-20% of the contained lithium is in the -0.5mm fines fraction that is screened out before gravity processing in the DMS circuit, as gravity processing below this size is challenging. A number of mines utilise flotation to recover value from this fraction and a preliminary series of tests were done on P2 Fresh mineralisation to gauge the amenability of Ewoyaa spodumene to standard flotation techniques. The results were encouraging with 6% concentrates being produced at a recovery of 49% and a mass yield of 11%. This demonstrated the potential to improve overall recovery by capturing lithium loss due to fines generation during crushing, and so expand the economic lithium inventory of the deposit. The flotation option will be studied in more detail in the next phase of study work, however, is not contemplated in this current phase given the DMS recoveries experienced, and the higher demand for premium coarse product.
Conversion to Hydroxide
Ewoyaa concentrate was tested by ANSTO in November 2019 to demonstrate that it could be converted to lithium hydroxide using a conventional conversion process based on the preparation of lithium carbonate followed by conversion to hydroxide.
The report concluded that “lithium carbonate could be produced which was amenable to conversion to high quality lithium hydroxide via metathesis with high purity lime, followed by evaporation and crystallisation.”
Lithium carbonate of 99.92% purity was produced from which high purity 56.5% lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) was made.
The cost of the plant and infrastructure has been based on similar gravity DMS installations that are operating in Western Australia. The following key parameters and assumptions were made and varied only as the throughput rate demands. A conceptual flow sheet design and layout are shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7.
§ Three stage crushing which was assumed to be sufficient to meet the target crush size for liberation of spodumene; circa 6.3mm. Contract crushing provision was assumed and quotations were solicited from a reputable Ghanaian contractor.
§ Conventional two stage dense medial separation (“DMS”) processing plant; screening of fines at 0.5mm via dewatering and desliming cyclones in conjunction with a vibrating screen; allowance for re-crushing of secondary DMS middlings. At this stage of study, a flotation circuit was not included, with the Company focus being on low capital cost and ease of operation solution via DMS only.
§ Product and rejects from the DMS circuit would be stockpiled and removed by truck and digger. The final concentrate product would be stockpiled for similar removal and assumed to be loaded onto 35 tonne tipper trucks. There was no capital cost allowance for the trucks, and it was assumed that a transport contractor could provide this service, from loading of concentrate right through to port storage and loadout. A separate quotation from an experienced freight forwarder was solicited and included in the operating costs.
§ All equipment was assumed to be new, excepting contractor provided equipment i.e., crushing and freight equipment.
By-Product Potential
Gravity test work on the Ewoyaa material using bench scale HLS highlighted the potential to produce a feldspar product in the light 2.6 SG fractions. Results are summarised in Table 7. Feldspar is generally defined as material containing a combined content of Na2O + K2O in excess of 10%. Such a product would be attractive to the domestic ceramics industry in Ghana as well as the main target market of the European ceramics industry.
Table 7: Feldspar potential from light gravity fraction
|
|
|
|
|
SG 2.6 |
Floats |
|
|
|
|
|
% K2O |
% Na2O |
Total Alkalis % |
%Total Mass |
% Fe2O3 |
% TiO2 |
|
P1 Transitional |
|
5.3 |
2.9 |
8.2 |
25.2 |
0.03 |
0.009 |
|
P1 Fresh |
Hi |
9.6 |
3.6 |
13.2 |
12.7 |
0.09 |
0.008 |
|
|
Lo |
4.4 |
6.4 |
10.8 |
13.1 |
0.07 |
0.005 |
|
P2 Transitional |
|
7.1 |
4.5 |
11.6 |
23.9 |
0.09 |
0.001 |
|
P2 fresh |
Hi |
9.2 |
3.5 |
12.7 |
34.2 |
0.11 |
0.001 |
|
|
Lo |
3.0 |
7.7 |
10.7 |
6.8 |
0.19 |
0.009 |
These results indicate that on average, around 15-20% of the material fed to the DMS plant could be recovered as a feldspar product. This translates to some 300,000tpa based on a plant throughput of 2.0Mtpa.
IronRidge Resources commissioned a preliminary marketing study from a recognised UK industrial minerals authority, First Test Minerals Ltd, and it demonstrated that because of the high alkali content, consistently low iron content and negligible titania content, this by-product would be attractive to the European tiles and sanitaryware industries. Selling prices of US$ 25-100/t FOB Ghana port were indicated, which could amount to additional revenue ranging from US$ 5-20 million per annum. This additional income was considered to be significant in terms of the overall project viability and the production of feldspar product will be examined in more detail in the next study phase.
9. Financial
Operating Costs
Operating costs were developed from first principles, utilising a combination of database information from similar projects (both in Ghana and other lithium projects) and from project specific budgetary quotations from experienced suppliers/contractors active in the region; refer Table 8.
Operating Cost Assumptions
§ Operating cost target accuracy, ±25%.
§ Operating costs are reported in US$, all costs and exchange rates are as at 1Q2021, with the following forex rates used: US$ 1.00 = A$1.52, ZAR13.
§ Power costs have been based on grid supply; electricity cost US$0.16/kWh assumed.
§ Maintenance costs have been factored from the capital cost estimate supply cost.
§ Corporate costs and associated company overheads are excluded.
§ Ghana administration office costs are excluded.
§ Corporate Tax and VAT are addressed separately in the cash flow model; other taxes or duties are excluded.
§ Project financing costs and sunk costs are excluded.
§ Escalation and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates are excluded.
§ Subsidies to local communities are excluded.
§ Overtime allowance/loading for local Ghana labour set at 10%.
Table 8: Operating Cost Estimate Summary
|
|
2.0Mtpa |
|
|
Cost Element |
US$/t Feed |
US$/t |
|
Contract Crushing |
6.08 |
41.44 |
|
Processing |
5.41 |
36.90 |
|
General & Administration |
2.48 |
16.90 |
|
Mining Management |
0.72 |
4.91 |
|
Contract Mining |
17.22 |
117.37 |
|
Sustaining Capital |
1.56 |
10.65 |
|
Project Closure |
0.69 |
4.69 |
|
Con. Transport in Country |
2.29 |
15.80 |
|
Shipping of Concentrate |
0 |
0 |
|
Total Operating Cost |
36.55 |
246.17 |
Capital Costs
The capital costs for the Project were estimated based on recent cost data from similar sized projects, as summarised in Table 9.
Table 9: 2.0Mtpa Capital Cost Breakdown, US$ ±25%
|
|
|
|
1. Construction P&Gs |
3,183,603 |
|
2. Plant & Services |
25,647,369 |
|
3. Infrastructure |
11,626,909 |
|
4. Mining |
1,462,185 |
|
5. Management Costs |
6,446,281 |
|
6. Owners Cost |
8,858,551 |
|
7. Working Capital |
1,961,379 |
|
Sub Total |
59,186,276 |
|
8. Contingency |
8,877,941 |
|
Grand Total |
68,064,217 |
Capital Cost Exclusions
The capital cost estimate did not include for the following:
§ Corporate costs and associated company overheads.
§ Costs for potential future upgrades.
§ Project financing costs.
§ GST, VAT, or other taxes or duties.
§ Sunk costs.
Financial modelling
A high-level preliminary financial model was developed for the purpose of evaluating the economics of the Project. Summary results from the financial model outputs are presented in tables within this section, including financial analysis, cash flow projections and sensitivities.
All costs are presented in current US Dollars (“US$”).
The funding for the Project has been included on the premise that all project development requirements will be funded via equity.
Revenue was based on a fixed lithium selling price of US$650/t for a 6% concentrate, Free on Board (“FOB”) Ghana port of Takoradi.
Operating costs for processing and administration were derived from estimates generated by budget quotations or benchmarking from similar operations and first principle estimates based on typical operating data. Mining costs have been provided by MFC based on contractor mining. No funding for exploration work during operations was included.
Depreciation and amortisation have been expensed at the rates applicable for tax deductibility under the Ghana fiscal regime for mining companies.
The Project would be subject to standard Ghana corporate taxation arrangements for exploitation companies. The model provided for the inclusion of a corporate tax rate of 35% and royalties paid to the Government based on a percentage of the return from production.
A 5% royalty is payable to the Ghanaian Government on sale of lithium concentrate. Additional royalties for the concessions are payable to one joint venture partner; 1% for LOM to the Ewoyaa, Abonko and Kaampakrom deposit JV partner, but capped at US$2M.
Cash flow models were prepared, and the results of the financial analysis are summarised in Tables 10-12 following.
Table 10: Cash Flow Model Inputs Summary
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mine Schedule Resources |
|
Total Resource |
|
Life of Mine |
yrs |
8.1 |
|
Waste Mined |
kt |
72,073 |
|
Ore Mined |
kt |
16,288 |
|
Strip Ratio, LOM |
W:O |
4.42 |
|
LOM Average Resource Grade (Li2O) |
% |
1.31% |
|
LOM Average Resource Recovery |
% |
65.6% |
|
% of P1 Material |
% |
70.9% |
|
6% Spodumene Production, LOM |
Kt |
2,390 |
|
LOM Average Product |
ktpa |
295 |
|
Annual estimated power draw |
MW |
16,244 |
|
Capex |
US$M |
68.1 |
Table 11 provides a summary of the operating cash costs contained within the cash flow model.
Table 11: Operating Cash Costs Summary
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mining Costs Total |
US$M |
280.5 |
|
Processing Costs Total |
US$M |
187.2 |
|
General & Admin Costs Total |
US$M |
52.1 |
|
Freight & Selling Costs Total |
US$M |
38.9 |
|
GET Fund Contribution |
US$M |
4.5 |
|
Sub Total Operating Expenditure |
US$M |
563.2 |
|
Royalties (Government & NSR) |
US$M |
77.7 |
|
Rehabilitation Provision |
US$M |
11.2 |
|
Land Taxes & Fees |
US$M |
0.9 |
|
Marketing Costs |
US$M |
29.8 |
|
Corporate taxes paid |
US$M |
264.7 |
|
Sustaining Capital Costs |
US$M |
25.5 |
|
Net Operating Costs |
US$M |
973.0 |
Table 12 provides the results of pre- and post-tax cash flows, NPV’s and Internal Rate of Returns (“IRR”) for the base case, using a constant lithium concentrate selling price of US$650/t FOB Ghana port.
Table 12: Cash Flow Model Key Results
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
US$M |
1,553 |
|
IRR, Post Tax, |
% |
125 |
|
C1 Cash Cost |
US$/t |
246.65 |
|
NPV (8%) Pre-Tax |
US$M |
539.0 |
|
NPV (8%) Post Tax |
US$M |
344.8 |
|
EBITDA |
US$M |
853.8 |
|
Payback |
Years |
< 1 |
|
NPAT, LOM |
US$M |
491.6 |
|
NPAT / year average |
US$M |
60.5 |
|
Surplus Cashflow, Post Tax |
US$M |
495.6 |
Cash Flow Sensitivities
The post-tax Net Present Value (“NPV”) sensitivity results are represented in Figure 7.
Project cash flows were most sensitive to changes in concentrate selling price where a 5% drop in price resulted in a greater than 20% change to the post-tax NPV. This was closely followed by the sensitivity to changes in recovery or grade.
Sensitivity adjustments of project expenses demonstrated that mining costs, which made up the largest portion of operating expenditure, result in the most significant movements in project NPV followed by processing, concentrate transport and capital costs.
10. Study Team
The main consultants engaged on the Study, including area of contribution, were:
|
Resource Modelling |
Ashmore Advisory Pty Ltd |
|
|
Pit Optimisation and Mine Scheduling |
Mining Focus Consultants Pty Ltd |
|
|
Beneficiation Test Work |
NAGROM |
|
|
Conversion Test Work
|
ANSTO |
|
|
Process Interpretation and Design
|
Trinol Pty Ltd |
|
|
Operating and Capital Costs |
Zivvo Pty Ltd and Trinol |
|
|
Cash Flow modelling |
Zivvo Pty Ltd |
|
|
Site Layouts
|
Primero Ltd |
|
|
Industrial Mineral Marketing
|
First Test Minerals Ltd |
|
Full Study HERE
